Kenneth Burns went from flying fighter jets over North Vietnam to retire as an Air Force major general, moving his family around the world to England, Turkey and the Philippines along the way.

He died June 9 of leukemia at age 82.

Burns' daughters, Pamela Axell and Alison Heft, described him as larger than life, a man who was as fearless as he was sympathetic.

He was in the Air Force for 31 years, flying 225 combat missions, serving two tours in Vietnam, commanding a fighter wing in England and the 13th Air Force in the Philippines. He retired in 1985 as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Near East and South Asia.

Though he would become a two-star general, he taught his family to have respect for people, no matter their rank, his daughters said.

“He had a very illustrious military career, but I don't think he ever forgot where he came from,” Axell said. “He had the ability to look beyond the rank and see the person.”

During his Vietnam tours, he never discussed the risks of his job and “had the ability to make us feel like he was totally in control and that nothing would happen to him and he'd be back,” she said.